these events, visit us at sfgtv.org and check us >> hello, everybody and welcome, good afternoon. thank you so much for coming to join us for this celebration today. i'm renell, brooks moon from the morning show, and of course, the voice of your 2012 world champions, san francisco giants. >> in fact, the last time that i was at city hall was halloween 2012, right after the parade and the victory celebration and so it is great to be back and it is almost baseball season and who is ready to demand our title? i cannot wait, i cannot begin to tell you how honored i am to serve as your host for this special event, i want to welcome you officially to the san francisco mayor's office of neighborhood services black

history month closing ceremony. what a way to wrap things up, we gather here to honor a living legend, ground breaking politician, activist and freedom fighter and fashion icon, the one and the only the honorable willie l. brown junior. [ applause ] growing in the area, his accomplishments and contributions to the world at large and public service were not lost on me and it is really been a dream come true for me to grow up and get to know him professionally and personally. my father and willie were

acquaintances and fraternity brothers. >> when he was elected the first african american mayor i was right up there front and center in 1996 and channel five was out there reporting and they included me in the news coverage and interviewed me and i was historical and crying and emotional and the camera lingered on my black power fist. and fast forward for when i was in washington, d.c. when i was there for barack obama first inauguration and there i went with my fist again more tears flowing and i was not the only one thinking about the shoulders on which the president stood, including those of mayor brown who without question paved the way for president obama and

countness others. so today we celebrate all that he is and all that he has done and all that he continues to do. the san francisco mayor's office of neighborhood services truly appreciates the generous support it has received during this 2013 black history month and so right now, i would like to take a moment and acknowledge our sponsors for today's event, san francisco firefighter local 798. the san francisco police association. wells fargo bank. comcast. gen renaissance foundation, at&t and paradigm assets management company and thank you all for helping us out today. we also would like to thank

marcus shelby of the orchestra who will be blessing us with his talents today. >> now, the san francisco mayor's office of neighborhood services works tirelessly as a liaison between san francisco neighborhoods and city government to make sure that the voice of the neighborhood is heard and if problems and concerns are handled effectively and respectfully. and now, representing the mayor's office of neighborhood services i would like to welcome to the podium, the director miss cristina, palone. thank you. >> good afternoon. it is my honor and pleasure to welcome each of you to the first black history month closing ceremony, the mayor's office is dedicated to connecting city government to san francisco diverse

neighborhood and community, function as to which the information is made available, particularly to those most in need. today we are honoring one of san francisco's greatest legends honorable willie l. brown junior for what he has bestowed on the local government, that he has bestowed on the local government, the state and our over all country. it is because of his exceptional dedication, and tenacity to fight injustice and provide economic growth and development that i am able to be up here today. could everyone who has worked for honorable brown or was appointed by him, please stand or raise your hand if you are already standing.

soak in the impact of a number of people that just raised their hands just then. what a tremendous honor it is to have this particular to say thank you honorable brown for what you have done to help us all grow, and achieve significant heights professionally and personally. lastly, i want to also personally recognize the african american woman in city government who have greatly impacted me on my own professional journey. supervisor breed, cohen and my regional director rhonda simmons. >> these women have been very instrumental in connecting the legacy that honorable brown established within his own career by giving back to their communities, providing opportunities for advancement and growth, it has been an honor to learn from each of you and particularly to rhonda for giving me an opportunity to learn the grave importance of

working in partnership, being transparent and taking time to build infrastructure correctly. i need to also acknowledge all of the staff of mons, please raise your hand or stand. in the back. these young people have dedicated long and countless hours to making all of these events and activities that mons produces as a success, it is because of each of them that they were able to make a difference. i am honored to lead such an extraordinary group of people, thank you and have a good event. >> thank you, cristina. so proud of you, i have watched this child grow up before my very eyes. she is fantastic. and now, let's welcome the 43rd mayor of the city and county of san francisco, a long-time

friend of willie's ladies and gentlemen, mayor ed lee. hello, sir, how are you? >> hello, everybody. >> welcome to the people's palace. very briefly, well, thank you very much for that introduction and cristina willie was joking just a minute ago and said wait a minute, i thought that the budget cuts you still have the neighborhood services going? and of course, i said, well, i can't tell you everything because you are write for a column in the newspaper and i just always learned the lessons from you and you announced the cut and then you just quietly just hire everybody back and all of a sudden we have a neighborhood services. but i am here tonight to of course, not only to participate

in this event, closing out the month of celebration, and focus and renewal of promise and so many of you who are active and leading our african american community together with the rest of the city to make it continue to be a city that i know mayor brown had tried all this year to continue being which is the world class city for everybody. and this is what i know that willie has done. all of his years, i think that his history is quite clear, not only to everybody in this room for anybody who works within this building knows that every detail of government, whether it is shining the brass in these elevators, to people who work here and the standards upon which they should be

serving the public, to great department heads and all of the things that they do to continue the success of this city. mayor brown, has done all of it. and he has paid attention to every detail and i am still catching up to learn, but it is. even to be close to what he has been trying to do and of course, especially this year with the trials and tribulations of i suppose any mayor in their first elected year goes through, you know, i take a lot of things personally and i must always go back and say, willie, did this happen to you? >> and, of course, getting the great advice that is absolutely necessary, because, when you sit in this seat, and you have the enormous responsibilities and you don't have the 30 years of experience that mayor brown did, but you similarly appreciate what it takes to run

the city, to ask for help, and now i am getting a lot of free help from willie and i appreciate that. and it is, it really is, something that he has given time and time again with my predecessor nuwsom who leaned a lot on him and i am doing the same thing and if we get things done, it is a lot to do with making sure that we don't make costly mistakes or anticipate where the problems might be in this very great city. these are the personal things that i am learning that i need to have a team of people around me that gives me that experience, that knowledge, the connections, that we don't have and it is not just within the city and county of san francisco. if anything, mayor brown has got connections throughout the state, throughout the rest of the country, in fact to some degree in large part my relative limited success at the

u.s. conference of mayers has much to do with his advice on how to talk and which mayers are effective to have been there a long time and can help me establish a voice on the national level with the other mayers, as we try to complete the things that we are doing here locally. we have given that a great voice and so i just wanted to take this opportunity, on these closing ceremonies to praise a man that i think has done so much and more. i appreciate it even more deeply, every single day that i am responsible for running this city, how much more he has done and how incredible, even today, in the terminal and something that has been in struggling and planning for many, many years,

we can lft almost see the tears in our eyes that blesses the city and these are projects that mayor brown has done over and over and over again in all parts of the city. and i will never forget, though, that when he was mayor, and we were doing mission bay together and that was my golf driving range and he was or had this vision, of turning it in from that desolate golf ball place to something that would welcome in today. 129 bio tech companies, located jobs in the thousands for people of all backgrounds, fulfilling a promise in hunter's point and giving us hope that we can go forward, i get the privilege to let you know that when i walk through the hallway every single morning to my office i am looking up at those pictures and i often say that i am

walking in today and i get it done, i will get it done. s these are all reminders of the great may ors before us who set the foot prints to us to fill and i am so happy. i honor someone who is continuing to give us a voice even in the laughing way, we are and we look forward to reading his column, even when i dread what he is going to say. the pure enjoyment of the angle is what we all say and i did not think of it in that way, that gives us great pause to again, celebrate, his achievements, his accomplishments, and his continued love for this city and for everybody in it. so, mayor brown, thank you very much, to you, to your friends, to all of your supporters for

being here. happy, african american history month. and more than a month, let's continue celebrating, let's keep doing this. this is a great enjoyment for all of us. thank you for being here. thank you for giving the insight for what you two share and not too shab by to have willie brown and now it is time to acknowledge and recognize our special guests stand and be recognized. david chiu? are you here or are they still in session? we want to acknowledge district five london breed, and district ten, supervisor, representing my hood, cohen. san francisco first african

american city administrator naomi kelley. the mayor's office deputy chief of staff, for public safety. paul henderson. >> san francisco treasurer, sisneros. >> san francisco port commissioner kimberly brandon. commissioners south east city, toya moses. >> oakland port commissioner, brian parker. director of workforce development office of economic workforce department rhonda simmons and president jack and jill of america incorporated san francisco chapter and

former soul service commissioner karen clopten. thank you all so much. well, we are so thrilled that our most distinguished keynote speaker was able to work us into his schedule today. welly has a way again of folks to show up. you know? he attended the american conserve torrey theater in san francisco and went on to appear on the big screen and the big stage. give a big warm welcome for the great amazing delroy lindo. can everybody hear me? >> i have to say that after agreeing to be here this

afternoon, a few or some short time after i was sent a schedule, and on the schedule, i saw that i had ten minutes from my keynote address. and then, some while later, they sent me another schedule and i had 15 minutes, and then, they sent me another schedule and i had 20 minutes. and i get here this afternoon, and they give the brother ten minutes. >> so, now, i got something to show you all. this is the speech that i brought when i had 20 minutes. so now you all are going to have to sit here and listen to this. so, so when crista asked me to do this, to be keynote for this address, i asked her immediately and i entered

emphatically yes, i would do it, truth be told. i was not sure quite why i was answering so quickly and so emphatically in the affirmative. and as i thought about it, it is not as if, there is any great public or private connection, between mayor brown and myself and even though like other people, i have always admired and respected mayor brown, albeit from a distance.31

willie brown is a game changer. a brief look at his career corroborates that. as an attorney in san francisco at a time when there were few black attorneys this man routinely defended the defenseless and taking on cases the most prominent lawyers refuse to take on. mario, on his first disobedience arrests and then he became involved in civil rights movement to protect housing discrimination after a

local real estate office refused to work with him because he was black. then there were a very significant first. first african american elected to san francisco in the california state assembly. the first african american speaker of the california state assembly. and as we all know the first african mayor of san francisco [ applause ] >> first, the first, the first. and a speaker of the assembly he would also become the first and the only politicians to hold that position for 15 years. longer than any other individual so much so that a new paradigm was created with prop 140 which instituted term limits. had that not happened

and all likelihood, willie brown might still be speaker had he so desired the. [ [ applause ] >> it's worth noting that willie became speaker of the state assembly after the coalition of republican and democrats. 28 republicans, 23 democrats. some say this goes back to a period of more consilt tree and less contentious part of american policies. i would a tend that it's his way to address people in a willful and supremely effective manner. let's examine willie more closely. it seems

he and i have some parallel difference. that's why i felt i needed to be here. i always considered that my life started on a very new trajectory when i came to san francisco to study. in that sense, my career then was born in san francisco. could i get some water. my mouth is very dry. some water please? clearly, willie brown's life and career has taken on an extraordinary trajectory. we both graduated san francisco state. for me graduating san francisco state in 2004 was a water shedding moment. i hope that is the same for you. i'm sorry. i'm a diva. all right?

it seems that way. what can i say? [ laughter ] willie worked for a time as a janitor to support himself as did i. while many of us must be dazzled when we first encounter some of the fabulous and prestigious black historians -- just kidding. while many of us must be dazzled when we first -- encounter the fabulous san francisco, it very much mirrors how moved and excited i was when i first got here. i was

mess morzed. i feel as a direct connection between his career in law, his work in the civil rights movement and that of his political career beyond which demonstrates an inherent and deeply felt caring and concern for people. but also, he has the talents and the gifts to translate that caring and concern into political and social action. a gift. he makes time for people. this is evidences not only by examining willie's record in public life but i can a test to this personally. when

it was a long line of people waiting to see him. a long and varied line. some people -- it struck me we have a very broad cross section to see people who willie had made time for. i saw this every time i came to city hall to visit mayor brown. while he was certainly making time for me and he's always been very open with me and i appreciate that, willie. he's never ever not responded when i have reached out adhesion always made time for me. this is a man who made time for people. it represented a very

broad cross section of the people of san francisco. that is how it should be. i had no idea of what the outcomes were of those meetings. the fact is mayor brown was giving people access. to him and to city hall

but in the same world in this city we have graced to have a willie brown. a man who is not only a bona fide celebrity. he's a celebrated presence, locally, nationally and also